Glebe Collegiate Institute (GCI) is a high school in

the Glebe The Glebe is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located just south of Downtown Ottawa in the Capital Ward. As of 2016, the neighbourhood had a population of 13,055. The Glebe is bounded on the north by the Queensway, on the e ...

neighbourhood of

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada. Administered by the

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB, known as English-language Public District School Board No. 25 prior to 1999) refers to both the institution responsible for the operation of all English public schools in the city of Ottawa, Ont ...

(OCDSB), Glebe Collegiate Institute has approximately 1,700 students and is the district's largest school. Students and sports teams are referred to as "

Gryphons The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk o ...

." Glebe was selected as one of Canada's best schools in the August 23, 2004, edition of ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' news magazine. The school offers specialized programs, such as

French immersion French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French- immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects ...

, English as a second language, bilingual,

gifted Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average and is also known as high potential. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to pe ...

, and a learning disability and special education learning centre. Glebe has a percussion group called Offbeat, which uses things like trash cans, brooms, chalk dusters, and water barrels as instruments. The school's Improv teams have twice placed within the

Canadian Improv Games The Canadian Improv Games (CIG) is a national charity dedicated to providing Canadian youth with improvisational theatre education and programming. It is one of the largest and most geographically dispersed theatre festivals in Canada with 14 reg ...

national finals. Glebe's robotics program participates in US FIRST international robotics competition, and won the SKILLS Canada STEM and Controls competition in 2015. They also have a student lead band called Ventana. Glebe's

Reach for the Top ''Reach for the Top'' (also known simply as ''Reach'') is a Canadian trivia based academic quiz competition for high school students. In the past, it has also been a game show nationally broadcast on the CBC. Matches are currently aired online ...

trivia team has won the national championships twice, during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. From 2012 through 2017, the Glebe Girls' Cross Country Team won 5 consecutive Overall OFSAA XC Titles, winning back to back Senior Girls titles in 2015 and 2016. In 2008 and 2010, a group of four science teachers (Andrew Cumberland, Dan Lajoie, Colin Harris, and Masato Kachi) from Glebe placed second in Canada in the Discovery Channel's Iron Science Competition.

History

The school was founded not as an independent entity but as an expansion of the Ottawa Collegiate Institute. In 1919 the Adolescent School Attendance Act had made attending school compulsory until age 16, leading to a dramatic rise in secondary school enrolment. The OCI had outgrown its existing facility (now

Lisgar Collegiate Institute Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal. History In 1843, a grammar school with 40 paying students was ...

) and constructed a new facility on what was then the outskirts of the city. The construction of "Ottawa Collegiate Institute, Glebe Building" was a slow process, and classes began in 1922 before it was complete, causing some inconveniences for students. Symbols of the OCI continue to adorn the entrance to the school. The building was officially opened in 1923. The rivalry between Glebe and

commenced soon after the division of the OCI. In one incident, a banquet was held at the Glebe building that included student clubs from both schools. In the middle of the meal, a food fight erupted between the two groups and only an enraged principal could persuade students to stop. In 1974, Glebe Collegiate Institute concert and stage bands produced an album, ''Something gold... Something blue'', and in 1978 produced a second album, ''Glebe Stage Band''. Glebe Collegiate Institute was used in the filming of the 2008 Canadian-American drama film ''

The Perfect Assistant ''The Perfect Assistant'' is a 2008 made-for-television Drama film starring Josie Davis and Chris Potter . Plot The movie begins with the hiring of Rachel Partson ( Josie Davis) as an administrative assistant at Wescott Public Relations. She is ...

''. In the 2012–2013 school year, $9,000 was raised for cancer research, more than $17,000 for the

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario — Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre, commonly known by its acronym CHEO ( ), is a children's hospital and tertiary trauma centre for children and youth located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. CHEO serves p ...

(CHEO) as well as the largest food donation ever to the Centre Town Emergency Food bank. Students at Glebe Collegiate Institute during the 2010-2020 decade would sometimes help set up and take down a temporary dome at a nearby exhibition centre during the winter. In exchange, the company that owned the dome would let school sports teams at Glebe use the dome for practices. In later years, the aforementioned company would offer to build a turf field and another temporary dome on Glebe property for free, but the school board refused to give approval and construction was never started. On October 19, 2017, Glebe Collegiate Institute went into lockdown after a gun and a bullet were found on school grounds. A young man was arrested, but there were no injuries. Glebe Collegiate Institute's Reach for the Top trivia team won the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 national championships. The competitions were held online due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Facility

Constructed in the early 20th century, the school has an old-fashioned

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

style that has been kept consistent despite additions to the building. The school has recently gone through extensive renovations in its science department to make the labs the most modern in the

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

. Notable features of the building include an auditorium with balcony seating, a subbasement dedicated wholly to an orchestral music room, instrument storage, and the music teachers' office, and a small

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

on the roof, which few students have been to. The school once included an underground swimming pool, but it has been closed. The school is a Wi-Fi

hotspot Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to: Places * Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett * Hot Spot (Tr ...

, and all students and teachers have access to the internet via wireless devices and computers. However, apart from the computer labs, Glebe still lacks air conditioning. Glebe has a full-size playing field that is used for a variety of high school sports like soccer, football, and baseball. Around the field, there are track and field running facilities with two full supporter stands.

Notable alumni and students

Donald Brittain Donald Code Brittain, (June 10, 1928 – July 21, 1989) was a film director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada. Career '' Fields of Sacrifice'' (1964) is considered Brittain's first major film as director. His other notable ...

(filmmaker) *

Edwin Orion Brownell Edwin Orion Brownell (born November 30, 1964, in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian musician and author. He is a neo-classical composer and concert pianist whose original music has been described as highly melodic; exhibiting an improvisational blu ...

(composer, entertainer) *

Jock Climie Jock Climie is a Canadian retired Canadian Football League player who played the slotback position primarily with the Ottawa Rough Riders, and Montreal Alouettes. He is also a former sportscaster with Canadian sports television channel TSN as p ...

(football player, sportscaster) * Samantha Cogan (ice hockey player for

PWHL Toronto The Toronto Sceptres are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto that competes in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They are one of the six charter franchises of the league. The team plays its home games at Coca-Cola Coliseu ...

) *

Bill Cowley William Mailes "Cowboy" Cowley (June 12, 1912 – December 31, 1993) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Eagles and Boston Bruins. Described as the Wayne Gretzky of hi ...

(hockey player) * Brian Doyle (author) *

Harvey Glatt Harvey Glatt (born March 28, 1934) is a Canadian music promoter, manager, broadcaster, record and instrument retailer, and record label owner. Early life and education Harvey Glatt was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, graduating from Glebe Co ...

(music manager, broadcaster) *

Luba Goy Luba Goy (; born November 8, 1945) is a Canadian actress, comedian and one of the stars of '' Royal Canadian Air Farce''. Life and career Goy was born in Haltern, Germany, to Ukrainian parents and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They immigra ...

(actress, comedian) *

Elizabeth Hanna Elizabeth Hanna is a Canadian film and television actress and speech language pathologist, most notable for her voice acting work in animated films. She is best known as the voice of Hen in '' Little Bear''. History Early history Elizabeth H ...

(voice actress, speech-language pathologist) *

Angela Hewitt Angela Hewitt (born July 26, 1958) is a Canadian classical pianist. She is best known for her Bach interpretations. Career Hewitt was born in Ottawa, Ontario, daughter of the Yorkshire-born Godfrey Hewitt (thus she also has British nationality) ...

(pianist) *

Syd Howe Sydney Harris Howe (September 18, 1911 – May 20, 1976) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Howe played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Quakers, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Eagl ...

(hockey player) *

Clark Johnson Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954) is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989� ...

(actor, director, producer) *

John Manley John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He was Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to 2004. ...

(politician) *

Peter Mansbridge Peter Mansbridge (born July 6, 1948) is a British-born Canadian retired news anchor. From 1988 to 2017, he was chief correspondent for CBC News and anchor of '' The National,'' CBC Television's flagship nightly newscast. He was also host of CB ...

(news anchor) *

Steve Marriner Steve Marriner (born 1984 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and record producer based in Toronto, Ontario. He first garnered attention in the Ottawa blues scene in his early teens as a wunderkind, prodigy ...

(musician) * Dewey Martin (drummer) *

David McGuinty David Joseph McGuinty (born February 25, 1960) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has been the Minister of National Defence since May 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, McGuinty has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Ottawa S ...

(politician) * Sean Michaels (writer) *

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...

(singer) *

Hannah Moscovitch Hannah Moscovitch (born June 5, 1978) is a Canadian playwright who rose to national prominence in the 2000s. She is best known for her plays ''East of Berlin'', ''This Is War'', "Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story", and ''Sexual Misconduct of the Mid ...

(playwright) *

Michael J. Reynolds Michael John Reynolds (15 August 1939 – 22 March 2018) was a Canadian actor who had featured in over one hundred films. Selected filmography * ''The Reincarnate'' (1971) .... David * ''The Discoverers'' (1972) .... Dr. Frederick Banting * '' T ...

(actor, writer) * Rick Sowieta (football player) * Patrick Watson (author, television producer) * Mike Gormley (career manager, record executive, podcaster)

References

;Bibliography *

External links

Glebe Collegiate SchoolOCDSB Website2006-2007 OCDSB school profile2005-2006 OCDSB school profile2004-2005 OCDSB school profile2003-2004 Glebe school profile
(PDF format)
Glebe RoboticsGlebe Music Program
{{Authority control High schools in Ottawa Educational institutions established in 1929 1929 establishments in Ontario

History

Facility

Notable alumni and students

See also

References

External links